Anthony Mackie eyeing Jesse Owens biopic

Anthony Mackie is producing and "badly wants to play" Olympian Jesse Owens in a new biopic about the athletes life

Anthony Mackie wants to star as Olympian Jesse Owens in a new biopic.

The 35-year-old actor "badly wants to play" the athlete who was known for sprinting and his ability to excel during the long jump, reports Deadline.com.

Owens won four gold medal performances at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, and infuriated Adolf Hitler by doing so as the dictator was hoping German athletes would dominate the games with victories and therefore let him show the world a resurgent Nazi Germany.

Mackie reunited with 'We Are Marshall' writer Jamie Linden, and they're teaming up to produce the film which was scripted by George Olson.

The sportsman's - who died in Arizona, on March 31, 1980, surrounded by his family - life was previously detailed in 1984 'The Jesse Owens Story', where Dorian Harewood played the athlete and the drama won a 1985 Primetime Emmy Award.